Third-rail electric-railway system.



PATENTED NOV. 12, 1907.

G. KOZESNIK.

THIRD RAIL ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEM. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 16. 1904.

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mnwron ATTORNEYS,

6% ariesz ozea'nz'l' No. 870,564. PATENTBD NOV. 12, 1907.

0. KOZBSNIK. THIRD RAIL ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEM.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 16. 1904.

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IN VEN T03 WITNESSES a/W I I v! UhllTED STATES CHARLES KOZESNIK, OF .NEW YORK,. N1 Y.

THIRD-RAIL ELECTRIC-RAILWAY SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Nov. 12, 1907.

Application filed June 16. 1904. Serial No. Z1Zl770l To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES Kozssxin, a citizen of the United SlttttS, and residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invents-d ccrtaiu new'and useful Improvements in Third- Rail lllectric-Railway Systems, of which the following is a specification. such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same This invention relatrs to third rail electric railway systems, and particularly to elevated. railways of the class. and the object thereof is to provide a railway sys tern of this classin which thethird rail or conductor in connection with which the contact shoes of the cars or motors operate, is composed of separate sections, which are in circuit only when the contact shoes of the cars or motors are bearing the rcon; and with this and other ob' jects in View the invention consists in a third rail elec tric railway system constructed as hereinafter de scribed and claimed.

The invention is fully disdosed in the following speci ficationv of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and in whicln Figure l is a sectional side view oi separate sections of the third rail of an electric railway system and showing one of the car or motor shoes in connection with one of said sections. together with the circuit forming and closingdevices used in connection with said sections; Fig. 2 a. section on the line 4 4 of Fig. l and on an enlarged scale.

In the drawing forming part of this specification, reference being made to Fig. l, l have shown at a the sleepers or supports of the third rail 1); and said third rail is composed of separate. sections b, and on said slt'epr-rs or supports are secured box-shaped holders 0 which correspond with the separate sections (1' of the third rail. and the said separate sections of the third rail and said box-shaped holders 0 extend the full length of the track. the rails of which are not shown.

insulated therefrom as shown at (F. and two of whiclr are em loyed in connection with each of the third rail sectiohs b. Each of the armature supports c consists of two pairs of uprights 6- connected with abase plate 6 insulated from the bottom of the box-shaped holde r c and the separate pairs of uprights 6- range transversely 'of and beneath the third rail and are provided in their upper ends with notches or recesses e in which are placed armaturcs c which range longitudinally of the third rail sections and are vertically movable. and are provided with guide'pins e movable in the notches .r

rccessrs e and each of the armatures e is provided with contact points or devices of copper c which are secured thereto, and over of the contact devicese and secured to the bottom of the third rail b is a copper plate a The contact devices e beneath each section b of the thirdrail are connected by a wiref, and run ning parallel with the track and incased and supported in any desired manner is a main supply wire f which is connected with the wires f by feed wires f preferably provided with switches f T he contact shoes g which operate in connection with the said third rail are each provided with a magnet h that after starting is energized by the current from the rail and as the car or motor moves along the track and the shoes g come in contact with the separate third rail sections b the armature e beneath said third rail sections are picked up and assume the position shown at the left of Fig. 1, and the circuit is completed from the main wire or conduc tor f 2 through the contact devices 2 the separate sections of the third rail, the contact shoes g and the proper connections to the motor, which is not shown. It will thus be seen that the separate third rail'sections b are never in circuit except when the Contact shoes 9 are resting thereon, and said third rail sections are thus made entirely harmless and no injury is occasioned by coming in contact therewith.

It will be understood that the means herein described may be applied to third rail electric railway systems of any kind or class and to cars or motors of any form of construction, and by my improvement I provide means whereby only that portion of the third rail over which a car or motor is passing is energized and in this way the third rail is rendered harmless and no injury can be occasioned by coming in contact therewith.

In the drawing forming part of this specification, 1 have shown the .third rail with its contact surface directed upwardly so that the contact shoes bear on the top thereof. but this arrangement of said parts is not ab solutely necessary and other arrangements thereof may be adapted. and various other changes in and modifications of the construction herein shown and. de

scribed may be made without departing from the 1. A third rail for electric railways, tlzt .nne being a hollow rail composed of an upper and a lower part united together but insulated from each other, armature supports within said rail having separated uprights provided with notches in their upper ends, armatures lying between said uprights and having pins engaging said notches, and an electric connection for said armatures, substantially as de 10 together with an insulating material between said flanges insulating said parts from each other, substantialiy as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention 1 have signed my name in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 15th day of June 1904.

CHARLES KOZESNIK.

Witnesses F. A. STEWART. C. E. MULREAN'Y. 

